EDMONTON - As if Ricky Ray needed any added motivation to play against his former team.

The former face of the Edmonton Eskimos franchise will return to Commonwealth Stadium for the third time as quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, just 352 yards shy of becoming the sixth player in CFL history to throw for 50,000 career yards.

Only this time, he will be coming up against the stingiest defence in the league.

One that has allowed the fewest net passing yards on the season so far (1,449) and the lowest percentage of passes completed (53.2%) in the league.

“We’re looking at it from the opposite end of the spectrum,” said Eskimos all-star cornerback Patrick Watkins, who spent the past two seasons as Ray’s teammate in Toronto. “We don’t want to be the people that he breaks 50,000 against, obviously.

“So, of course there’s a little motivation for us and it’s not going to be the featured problem trying to stop him. Our game plan is to stop them in general.”